WordPress is an open source software platform that allows you to host, create and manage websites on the Internet. Its community-based version is WordPress.org. This offers self-hosted website software, as well as all the themes and plugins associated with it. If you’re registered on WordPress.org all of
WordPress.com is the commercial version of WordPress.org, where you can host a basic site for free, or pay a bit more and upgrade its features. Understanding both platforms and what each one offers is essential before you start building your site. In order to take advantage of the free hosting option, however, your site will carry lots of advertising – WordPress has to make money somehow, doesn’t it? Let’s take a closer look at both and what each one offers:
Understanding The Full Set Of Features Associated With WordPress.Com
WordPress.com allows you to place your focus on creating outstanding content while WordPress takes care of everything else for you. Part of working on WordPress.com includes premium hosting, back ups and security features to protect your website from malicious attacks. With WordPress.com you can also upgrade your account to feature a custom domain.
On the aesthetics front you can select a look for your website from hundreds of professionally designed themes. Or, if you are feeling more creative you can design your own look from a template.
Sites hosted on WordPress.com also feature full social media integration so you can share your social networks on your site and vice versa. WordPress.com hosting also offers a full suite of features so you do not have to worry about installing third party plugins, which are time consuming and which can also make your website security more vulnerable.
You are also fully supported when you host with WordPress.com, as online forums and support are readily available to assist you with troubleshooting, and give you invaluable advice on how to make sure your new website will work better.
All you have to do is sign up on WordPress.com and accept (and comply with) its terms of service. It is as simple as that.
Show Your Independence With A Self-Hosted Website On WordPress.org
With WordPress.org, it is all up to you. You will need to designate a host for your website and ensure that all the relevant maintenance is done, and done on time. If you need assistance WordPress.org offers VaultPress for backups and security.
On WordPress.org you can make use of custom themes. More importantly though it is here that you really can shine and make your own templates, using your in-depth knowledge of CSS and PHP.
Making use of Jetpack, or other WordPress plugins, you can enable social share on your WordPress.org website. You can make use of its tracking features to find out how much social conversation your content is generating. You can also install other plugins to make your site do more and work better. There are a number of WordPress verified plug ins you can use, which have been tested and which are unlikely to affect your website’s security.
Steven Johnson, a WP Hosting Reviews senior editor, works from Atlanta and covers all things related to WordPress and Hosting.
He graduated from Georgia Tech in Chemical Engineering, has managed hosting companies and now builds WordPress and Joomla Websites for small to medium companies full time.
